The Law of Three: A Sarah Martin Mystery

By Caroline Rennie-Pattison

Sarah Martin isn’t the only outsider in her small Muskoka town. But when she’s teamed up with Byron Hopper for a geometry project, she discovers that she’s had an easier time being accepted in her new town than some long-time residents.

Byron’s family has long been the subject of rumours. Some say that they are a mob family, some say they are part of a witness relocation program, some say they are just plain weird. But the most sinister rumour surrounds Byron’s sister, Garnet, who many believed committed murder.

Sarah resolves to get closer to Byron to find out more about his family … and get to the bottom of the alleged murder. In so doing, she learns that the family has another secret: they’re Wiccans. As Sarah learns more about the family, she also cuts through popular misconceptions about Wicca and finds out what Wiccans believe, how they worship, and what values they hold dear.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dundurn
• Release date: Dec 14, 2007
• ISBN: 9781554886517

Caroline Rennie-Pattison

Caroline Rennie-Pattison was born in Paisley, Scotland. She moved to Canada at a young age and currently enjoys living with her husband and two children in Muskoka, Ontario, where she kayaks, paints, and reads. Caroline is a teacher-consultant who works with teachers and young people in many schools.

Book preview

training.

Psycho Girl

Date: Thursday, October

18 Location: School

Just when I was beginning to think that being forced to leave my old life to live in the sticks of Muskoka wasn’t the end of the world after all, I had a nasty encounter with the school nutcase.

It happened while walking from homeroom to my first class. My new friends, Mindi Roberts and Stacey Payton, were telling me about some hot guy in their music class while Cori Stedman was shooting me daggers. Cori blames me for her family issues. It wasn’t my fault her father got caught walking on the wrong side of the law. It can be tough being a ninth-grade detective.

Stacey had just said, Hey, Mindi, Roy’s hot, don’t you think? I’ll bet he asks you to the dance before the end of the day.

Ugh! Leave my brother out of it! I yelled, sidestepping towards Stacey as if to give her a shove. That was my first mistake. My geography text slid loose from the massive pile of books in my arms and fell to the floor with a smack that would deafen an elephant.

Oh, crap, I mumbled.

Stacey laughed as I stopped and bent over to scoop up the fallen book. That was my second mistake. With the perfect timing of destiny — or fate, or whatever you want to call it — my fingertips barely touched the book when a fishnet stocking–clad leg plowed into my side. I was knocked down onto my hands and knees, a weight rolling over my back accompanied by a shriek that echoed all the way down the hall. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the hard floor with a strange-looking girl in a messy tangle of limbs.

You tripped me! she yelled, her eyes fiery.

Sorry! I dropped my book, I explained, as we disentangled ourselves and struggled to our feet. Are you okay?

No, I’m not okay!

I clutched the offending book to my chest. The hallway, once teeming with bodies rushing off to their classes, was suddenly quiet and still.

I’m sorry, I said again. I didn’t mean to … Then I stopped. I hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d run into me.

I looked around at the crowd that had gathered, their faces curious. The girl glared at them through darkly lined eyes. Some people looked away or left. She did look a little scary. The rest of her face was as heavily made up as her eyes, leaving her true appearance largely up to the imagination. Her hair was dyed black and red and pulled into stubby pigtails exposing the shaved lower half of her scalp. A silver stud pierced the skin under her bottom lip, silver loops lined her ears, a silver-studded choker clasped her neck like a dog collar, and countless silver bracelets jangled at her wrist. She wore a short-sleeved, skin-tight black T-shirt that showed off the tattoos on her upper arms. Her legs, mostly visible due to the ultra micro miniskirt she was wearing, plunged into tall black boots.

Her eyes met mine. What are you looking at? she asked, sharply.

I turned away and mumbled yet another apology.

What did you just call me? she asked, taking a step closer.

Confused, all I could do was stutter. I — uh —

She leaned in and gave me a push. Not hard, but enough to force me to take a step backward. Someone gasped. Then another person yelled, Cat fight! and a crowd quickly gathered again.

"How do you like to be pushed?" the girl snarled, giving another shove, this one harder than the first. Again, I stumbled back a step.

I didn’t think it was a good time to point out that I hadn’t actually pushed her. That in fact, she was the one who’d fallen on top of me. If anything, I had more right to be angry than she did. I kept my mouth shut.

Well? How do you like to be pushed? she repeated. This time, I was ready for her. When she stepped in to give me another shove, I ducked to the side. She was caught off guard and actually stumbled when her hands glanced my arm, very nearly falling on her face yet again. A few giggles rippled through the crowd.

Not cool.

If she’d been mad before, she was steaming now. In hindsight, I should have just let her push me around a bit more. She would have gotten tired of it soon enough and it would have been over. But no. I had to go and cause her more embarrassment.

You picked the wrong person to mess with, she said.

I held my hands up in protest. "I don’t want to mess with you. This is just one big misunderstanding."

"Are you saying I’m stupid? That I don’t understand what’s going on?" she asked, her face darkening.

No! I — uh …

Before I could say anything more, she raised her left hand and crooked her first two fingers, pointing them at me. With her black-lined eyes narrowed, she mumbled strange words under her breath. Confused, I appealed to the crowd. Most people were staring in fascination. A few looked at me in sympathy.

What are you doing? I asked. Behind me, Mindi gasped.

The strange girl ignored me and carried on with her odd recital so that I wondered if she was ever going to stop. She did. But she wasn’t done with me. She jabbed my chest with those long fingers, punctuating each jab with a word. Never. Come. Near. Me. Again. Then, she stormed off, the crowd silently parting to let her through.

In a matter of seconds, the hall was loud and bustling once again with students on the move, streaming around me like water around a rock. The show was over.

What just happened? I asked.

"I think you were cursed!" said Stacey. She looked horrified.

I made a face. Cursed? What do you mean?

Mindi stepped closer and whispered, "That was Garnet Hopper."

So? I asked.

Stacey’s eyes were wide. "I’ve heard about Garnet cursing people, but I’ve never actually seen it. Everyone says she’s a devil worshipper, you know."

Oh, come on! I snapped.

It’s true, insisted Mindi. "She is. And her parents are in the Mafia." Stacey nodded furiously in agreement.

I stared at them. It seemed crazy, but they were serious. Cori. You don’t believe this stuff, do you?

She nodded. I heard her family’s here in Muskoka because they’re in a witness protection program. Her dad ratted out some of his Mafia friends a few years ago, and they’ve been after him ever since.

I shook my head. It sounds like a load of stupid rumours.

It’s not, Sarah! insisted Mindi. Everybody says it’s true.

Look, added Stacey, the bottom line is … everyone knows better than to get Garnet mad at them. In fact, most people just stay away from her.

And you go and trip her! added Mindi, alarmed.

Of all people … cried Stacey, looking like she was going to faint.

I didn’t do it on purpose! I protested. She fell over me!

Doesn’t matter, said Cori. She hates you now. You sure know how to pick your enemies.

The corners of her mouth twitched up ever so slightly. She was enjoying this.

What exactly does it mean to be cursed by Garnet? I asked Mindi at lunchtime as we headed for the cafeteria. What do her curses do? Will my hair fall out? My teeth? Will I grow a third eye?

Mindi frowned. No! Uh … I’m not sure. You just don’t want to get in Garnet Hopper’s bad books.

Too late. I snorted.

Yeah, she agreed. There’s something else you should know. Rumour has it that a couple of years ago, she was under investigation for murder.

"What?" I exploded.

She wasn’t convicted or anything …

We arrived at the cafeteria. Every head turned our way as I walked self-consciously towards our usual table. It seemed to take forever to reach it. I swear I could hear my name being whispered all around me.

Who did she supposedly kill? I asked as soon as we sat down. I was hoping she’d say somebody’s cat. It’s not that I had anything against cats, but given the alternative …

She leaned close and answered quietly, William Tremball.

Please tell me that’s a cat.

She just looked at me.

Okay, I guess not. I stared down at my unopened lunch, speechless for once in my life.

After a moment, Mindi said, No matter what you think about all the rumours, I think you need to lie low for the next little while and give her time to forget about you.

You want me to go into hiding? Isn’t that getting a little bit carried away?

Well … I don’t think …

Our conversation was interrupted by the noisy arrival of Roy, Chris, Cori, and Stacey. Mindi brightened at the sight of Roy. Inwardly, I groaned. Why did my best friend have to fall for my brother? What did I do so wrong in this life to deserve that?

The only good thing about Roy was that he brought Chris LeBlanc with him. Now he was worth paying attention to! Unfortunately, before I knew what was happening, Garnet and I were the talk of the table. Of course it was Roy who brought it up.

Did you hear about the poor sap Garnet Hopper beat up and cursed this morning? he asked. I heard she was so scared she practically filled her pants.

That was Sarah! Cori squealed, only too eager to share the great news. Roy’s mouth dropped open. Chris turned and stared at me like I was some kind of deformed bug.

I did not get beat up! I protested, sounding whiny even to my ears. And I wasn’t scared.

For the next eternity, I had to endure a reliving of my entire ordeal as told by Cori, Mindi, and Stacey. All the while, Roy and Chris were staring at me in morbid fascination. I should have just left. The only good thing about it was that I learned Chris went to the same elementary school as Garnet (though he was a grade behind). I pounced and ran an interrogation my father would be proud of.

Is Garnet a devil worshipper? I asked, cutting to the chase.

He nodded. Yeah, I guess so. At least that’s what people say.

What do you say?

He shrugged. I remember what she was like before people said that about her. Back when we were in Muskoka Public, Garnet was always popular. In Grade 8, she bragged about going out with guys in high school. That’s when she went out with Will Tremball.

The guy she killed? I asked.

Roy looked startled. She killed someone?

Yeah. Goes right along with being a devil-worshipping, witness-protected Mafia member, I said.

Chris raised his eyebrows. So you’ve heard all the stories.

I nodded. What’s true and what isn’t?

I have no idea, he said. All I know is that after Will drowned, I didn’t see Garnet again until I started high school, two years later. By then, she was a lot different. Like she is now. And I hadn’t seen her brother, Byron, either until this year, when he started coming here too.

She has a brother? In Grade 9? I turned to the girls. Do you know him?

Yeah. He came to our school in Grade 7. He’s not very friendly; I don’t think he’s ever said two words to me, said Mindi.

His locker’s right by mine, said Chris. I’ve tried saying hi and talking to him, but he doesn’t want to talk. He never used to be like that. He used to have friends, but now he’s always by himself.

Sounds like they’ve both changed, I said. So, William drowned?

Chris nodded. People say that Garnet just stood by and watched. That she didn’t try to help him. The police did an investigation, and she was never arrested or anything. But it was enough to convince people that she did something wrong. There wasn’t much official information, but Will’s family would have been kept informed, and Will’s brother, Nathan, has never kept it a secret that he believes Garnet killed his brother. He told everyone that the police didn’t have enough evidence to press charges, even though they thought she was guilty. He’s how most of the police information got leaked.

We were quiet for a moment. I tried to imagine what it would be like to watch someone drown and not try to save them. I couldn’t.

Then Stacey brought up her favourite topic, the upcoming Halloween Dance. She’s one of the organizers and, I’m sure, one of the keenest. I let their conversation drift around me, lost in my own thoughts.

I was late getting home due to basketball practice and was hoping to smell meatloaf coming from the kitchen. Instead, when I yanked open the door, my ears were assaulted by a screeching racket like I’d never heard before — well, not since my brother, Roy, made his first attempt at shaving. I dropped my jacket onto the floor and kicked off my shoes.

Hey! What’s going on? I yelled.

We’re in the den, Sarah! called Roy.

I burst into the room to find Mom kneeling on the floor, wrestling with a tiny, squirming pig who seemed to be doing its very best to free itself from her arms.

I finally got my pet pig! announced Mom, beaming. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and readjusted her hands around the frantic little bundle of joy.

Why’s it in the house? I asked.

Exactly! said Dad, with a clap. See, Gina, Sarah agrees with me: pigs belong outside.

I told you, Edward, explained Mom. "I want a house pig. Amber’s clean and hypoallergenic …"

That’s right, she said hypoallergenic.

… so we wouldn’t have to worry about Roy’s allergies, and that’s why she’d make such a good house pet, finished Mom.

Wait a minute, don’t drag me into this, said Roy. I wanted a dog.

So did I, son, said Dad with a nod.

Mom frowned. You’re both gone all day. I’m the one stuck here all alone day after day and I want a pig! she said, her voice rising.

So get a job, said Dad.

There are no jobs! Don’t you think I’ve tried?

Then at least get a pig that lives outside, said Roy.

I wanted an indoor pig so I got an indoor pig! said Mom, clenching her teeth. "Don’t start telling me the kind of pet I should get when I need some company here at

Reviews for The Law of Three

[calexis_47 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had not realized that this book is actually a sequel to another, The Whole, Entire, Complete Truth as part of the series "A Sarah Martin Mystery." Despite not having read the first book though, this novel can stand alone as it is without much confusion.Sarah Martin as a character was... well, quite frankly, I didn't like her. She was impulsive and immature. And her character just didn't quite match that of a Grade 9 girl. Sarah does not seem like a good role model for young girls to be reading this. She believes in all the rumours, however ridiculous, that her friends tell her about the Hopper family and goes to drastic and dramatic measures to investigate. I understand that she has this desire to be a detective like her father but her character was just a bit too much. It is not only the character of Sarah that seems to be faulted. Her friends, or those she calls her friends, are obnoxious and shallow. They are judgmental and like Sarah, makes things more than what they are.What I did find interesting was the small compilations of information that Sarah finds about the Mafia, witness relocation program and Wacca. In each of these, Caroline Pattison relates it back to Canada, so for Canadian students and readers, there was relevant information in between the story.All in all, I didn't really enjoy this book and doubt I'll ever read the first novel of the series. Perhaps I'll lend this novel to my Grade 9 cousin and see if she enjoys it as she might connect to Sarah better.